Calendar

Aquatic Calendar

A listing of meets and events for the year. An invaluable resource for all coaches, swimmers and their parents.

View Aquatic Calendar

Directory

Club/Team Directory

Check out the Directory of Swimming Clubs and Teams to find the pool that's nearest or most suitable for you.

View Directory

Countdown

19TH COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

Events Calendar

September 2010 October 2010
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Week 35 1 2 3 4
Week 36 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Week 37 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Week 38 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Week 39 26 27 28 29 30

Videos

Michael Phelps
200m Butterfly (Athens 2004)

Video not showing in IE? Install the Adobe Flash Player Plugin for IE. Or get Firefox.

Random Image

Img214578100.jpg

Local Weather

Mostly Cloudy Scattered T-Storms Scattered T-Storms
33C 32C 31C
Thursday Friday Saturday
Mostly Cloudy Scattered T-Storms Scattered T-Storms

Who's Online

We have 78 guests online
History of Water Polo

Water Polo was adapted to swimming pools in 1870 by the London Swimming Club, and the first official game was played at the Crystal Palace Plunge in London. The game became a version of rugby on water, based more on brute strength than athletic skill. A common trick players used then was to place the small ball in their oversized swimming trunks and swim underwater towards the goal, where they would score by using both hands to place the ball on the pool's deck.

By 1880, the modern version of the sport began to evolve in Scotland. Rule changes included scoring on a net 10 feet long by three feet high (roughly three-metres by one-metre), and using a leather ball similar to the size of a soccer ball. Players could only be tackled when holding the ball and could only touch the ball with one hand - rules that still apply today.

The Scottish rules were adopted throughout Great Britain, and then the game spread beyond the island. Nations like Hungary, Belgium, Austria, Germany and France, began playing the sport by the late 1800s. By 1889, America was introduced to the sport by an English swimming instructor, John Robinson.

Water polo made its Olympic debut in 1900 and has remained an Olympic sport ever since. Great Britain won gold at four of the first five Games. The only hiccup was in 1904, when the United States won. The Americans also won silver and bronze because they were the only country to enter teams. Other nations refused to play with the soft, under-inflated ball that was common in American competition.

Women's water polo made its debut during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The first FINA World Cup for women was held in 1979 and the first World Championships took place in 1986.
 
 
Water Polo Equipment

Water polo is played in a pool at least 50 metres long with a minimum water temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. The playing dimensions are 30 metres long by 20 metres wide for men and 25 metres by 17 metres for women with a depth of at least two metres for both.

Different coloured buoys indicate the lines in the playing area. White buoys mark the two goal lines and the half-distance line, which divides the field of play in half. Red buoys indicate the two-metre lines near each goal. Yellow buoys represent the four-metre lines and green buoys indicate the seven metre lines. The exclusion areas are marked off as red rectangles behind each goal line. Aside from serving as the penalty area, the exclusion area is where players must enter and leave the pool. Each net floats on the water and measures three metres wide and 90 centimetres high.

A water polo ball is roughly the same size as a soccer ball, but is made of synthetic material and weighs less, at 400 to 450 grams.

Water polo cap.
The water polo cap with ear-protection.

Water Polo players wear caps with ear protectors to guard the head and eardrums. The caps must be securely fastened under the chin and also sport numbers to identify the players. One team wears white-coloured caps and the other blue with the numbers ranging from two to thirteen. Both goalkeepers wear red caps with the number one.
 
 
History of Water Polo  |  Water Polo Strategies  |  Rules and Judging  |  Glossary of Terms